PvP Pet Battles

May 2015: Young Talbuk
When I first started using the Young Talbuk I was very impressed, yet somehow I stopped using it as much. That’s about to change, with your help of course. What sort of Young Talbuk teams will you come up with? I have an S/S, an H/P and an H/S to choose from so please stick to those breeds. I’m looking forward to seeing your ideas!

So how does the contest work? Each participant will submit one team that includes the pet of the month. Teams must be in by the 10th of the month. Once a team is submitted there is no changing the move set, so please be careful with your submission. No duplicate pets are allowed.

Please use this format:
Team Name (optional)
H/P Fragment Of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Spirit Spikes)
P/S Stonegrinder (Woodchipper,Thunderbolt,Clean-Up)
P/P Twilight Fiendling (Creepy Chomp, Crreping Ooze, Siphon Life)

… as opposed to:
Team Name (optional)
H/P Fragment Of Anger (2,1,2)
P/S Stonegrinder (2,1,1)
P/P Twilight Fiendling (1,2,2)

I like everything to be uniform and the latter creates an extra level of work for me. Thanks

Initially I will play each submitted team an equal number of times. The number of times that I play each team will depend on the number of submissions. I will state this initial number of battles after all teams are submitted. Expect around four initial battles if there is the same level of participation as last month (14 submissions). After the initial battles the top five teams will move onto the championship round, where I will play each team four more times. All undefeated teams will automatically move into the championship round, even if there are more than five. If there is a tie after the championship rounds then the tied teams will enter a sudden death mode, where each team will play another battle until one team has more wins than the other in sudden death. Quality win points will not factor into sudden death.

Each win will be worth ten points, each draw will be worth five points. A stalemate will be considered a draw. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on either of the top or high-tier list will be worth ten extra points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on the top-tier list (but on the high-tier list) will be worth five extra points. No extra points are awarded for the pet of the month itself.

These extra points are called “team points”.

Teams get extra points for beating higher quality opponents. If your team beats a team with a top-tier pet on it then you earn an extra point for each top-tier pet, if it beats a team with a high-tier pet on it then it’ll earn a half point for each high-tier pet on the enemy team.

Here is the tier list: Top & High Tier List

Note: Some pets have been added to the list since last month.

If you need more explanation about team points you can see examples here: POTW #2

The winner will receive a Blizzard store pet of their choice. Good luck!

Last Month’s Teams:

All your decoys are belong to us
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Spirtfire Beam, Soulrush)
P/S Stonegrinder (Screeching Gears, Thunderbolt, Clean-Up)
S/S Young Talbuk (Horn Gore, Tuff n’ Cuddly, Flurry)

Score: 59 (4-1, 15 team points, 4 quality win points)
W: Fluxfire Feline, Weebomination, Chrominius (1)
L: Blossoming Ancient, Kun-Lai Runt, Stinker
W: Hydraling, Bonkers, Netherspawn (0.5)
W: Ore Eater, Servant Of Demidos, Sunreaver Micro-Sentry (1)
W: Chrominius, Nexus Whelpling, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling (1.5)

I just couldn’t damage through the heals in the second battle or else this team would have gone undefeated; Stinker cuaght me off guard. I didn’t get a screenshot because the last opponent fled after the second round when I juked the Surge of Power. Other than that it was a fun team to play.

Anger Moon
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Soulrush)
H/P Trunks (When Elekks Fly, Moonfire, Avalanche)
S/S Young Talbuk (Horn Gore, Tough n’ Cuddly, Flurry)

Score: 75.5 (5-0, 20 team points, 5.5 quality win points)
W: Stunted Direhorn, Creepy Crate, Hydraling (0.5)
W: Emerald Whelpling, Amber Moth, Magical Crawdad (2)
W: Direhorn Runt, Ore Eater, Bone Serpent (1.5)
W: Clockwork Gnome, Terrible Turnip, Soul Of The Forge (0.5)
W: Ore Eater, Bone Serpent, Mechanical Socrpid (1)

When Elekks Fly is a risky move to take, but here the risk paid off. I’m interested to see how well the Young Talbuk will do in the next month.

Angry Pig Bones
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Soulrush)
S/S Lifelike Mechanical Boar (Charge, Pig Out, Decoy)
S/S Bone Serpent (Bone Barrage, Call Darkness, Nocturnal Strike)

Score: 76.5 (5-0, 20 team points, 6.5 quality win points)
W: Bronze Whelpling, Pandaren Water Spirit, Enchanted Broom (1)
W: Pandaren Water Spirit, Darkmoon Zeppelin, Chrominius
W: Azure Whelpling, Emerald Proto-Whelp, Chrominius (0.5)
W: Ore Eater, Teroclaw Hatchling, Alpine Hare (3)
W: Bone Serpent, Gooey Sha-ling, Ikky (1)

I have to admit it was hard getting used to the 1319 health serpent when I’m used to having 1644. It obviously wasn’t detrimental to the team’s win rate.

Bad vibes
H/P Vengeful Porcupette (Powerball, Spirit Spikes, Flank)
H/P Fragment of anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Soulrush)
S/S Hyjal Wisp (Arcane Blast, Evanescence, Wish)

Score: 74 (5-0, 20 team points, 4 quality win points)
W: Sister Of Temptation, Unborn Val’kyr, Molten Corgi (1)
W: Fiendish Imp, Chaos Pup, Wild Golden Hatchling (1)
W: Darkmoon Zeppelin, Pandaren Water Spirit, Chrominius
W: Bonkers, Murkalot, Swamp Croaker (1)
W: Wild Crimson Hatchling, Unborn Val’kyr, Molten Corgi (1)

I forgot how awesome the Vengeful Porcupette is when used properly. I used Wish a lot less than you would think, most of the time I was more concerned with ramping up Arcane Blast.

Banana Chilled Anger
H/P Fragment of Anger (Spiritfire Bolt, Spirtfire Beam, Soulrush)
P/B Darkmoon Monkey (Smash, Clobber, Banana Barrage)
B/B Frigid Frostling (Ice Lance, Frost Nova, Howling Blast)

Score: 64 (4-1, 20 team points, 4 quality win points)
W: Weebomination, Fragment Of Anger, Puddle Terror (1)
W: Lil’ Ragnaros, Unborn Val’kyr, Swamp Croaker (2)
L: Bone Serpent, Ore Eater, Dread Hatchling
W: Lil’ Tarecgosa, Flat-Tooth Calf, Restless Shadeling
W: Scourged Whelpling, Iron Starlette, Ominous Flame (1)

This surely surpasses the amount of Frigid Frostling battles that I’ve done on my own. There’s no shame in losing that battle to the Ore Eater team.

Black Temple Bilecats
H/P Fragment Of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Spirit Spikes)
P/S Biletoad (Tongue Lash, Healing Wave, Frog Kiss)
P/B Feline Familiar (Onyx Bite, Stoneskin, Devour)

Score: 58 (3-1-1, 20 team points, 3 quality win points)
W: Dark Phoenix Hatchling, Mud Jumper, Netherspawn
D: Amber Moth, Harbinger Of Flame, Lost Of Lordaeron
W: Anubisath Idol, Teroclaw Hatchling, Chrominius (2)
W: Clock Em’, Darkmoon Tonk, Lil’ Bling (1)
L: Bonkers, Bonkers, Summit Kid

I enjoyed using the Feline Familiar since that’s a pet that I probably haven’t used in over a year before this team. Devour helped me out of a few jams.

Death From Below
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Spirit Spikes)
S/S Rabbit (Flurry, Dodge, Burrow)
P/B Spawn of G’nathus (Swallow You Whole, Dive, Thunderbolt)

Score: 63 (5-0, 10 team points, 3 quality win points)
W: Dark Phoenix Hatchling, Mud Jumper, Netherspawn
W: Lil’ Bling, Lil’ Bling, Sunreaver Micro-Sentry (1)
W: Lil’ XT, Anubisath Idol, Chrominius (1)
W: Lil’ Tarecgosa, Unborn Val’kyr, Twilight Fiendling (1)
W: Mongoose, Shrine Fly, Silkbead Snail

Damn, rabbits can be crazy good. I’m glad other people like the Spawn of G’nathus because I always overlook it when building teams, then realize it’s both competitive and fun to use.

Decoy… I HATE YOU
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Soul rush)
H/P Infected Squirrel (Stampede, Creeping Fungus, Consume)
S/S Slithershock Elver (Grasp, Dodge, Pump)

Score: 54 (3-2, 20 team points, 4 quality win points)
W: Lil’ Ragnaros, Molten Corgi, Soul Of The Aspects (1)
W: Gilnean Raven, Perky Pug, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling (2)
L: Unborn Val’kyr, Lil’ Ragnaros, Mechanical Pandaren Drgonling
W: Chi-Chi, Bonkers, Unborn Val’kyr (1)
L: Weebomination, Iron Starlette, Stonegrinder

In that last battle I really needed Deep Bite instead of Grasp, but that’s just the way it goes. That third team has been harassing me regularly, I’ve lost to it a few times. Gotta love beating Bonkers and and a valk!

Elune’s Wrath
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Soulrush)
S/S Nether Faerie Dragon (Arcane Blast, Ethereal, Moonfire)
P/S Sentinel’s Companion (Peck, Soulrush, Ethereal)

Score: 77.5 (5-0, 20 team points, 5.5 quality win points)
W: Molten Corgi, Sky-Bo, Lifelike Mechanical Frostboar
W: Dread Raven, Kun-Lai Runt, Darkmoon Tonk (1.5)
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Living Fluid, Clockwork Gnome (1.5)
W: Blighthawk, Jademist Dancer, Junglebeak (3)
W: Clockwork Gnome, Magical Crawdad, Voodoo Figurine (1.5)

As usual, I’m looking back on the fourth victory and trying to remember how it happened. Perhaps there was a stun involved. At any rate that’s a huge win.

Fun with Carps
H/P Zomstrok (Infected Claw, Shell Shield, Carpnado)
H/P Fragment Of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Soulrush)
S/S Sky-Bo (Flamehtrower, Sticky Grenade, Launch)

Score: 77 (5-0, 20 team points, 7 quality win points)
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling, Jademist Dancer (3)
W: Pandaren Earth Spirit, Fragment Of Desire, Sunreaver Micro-Sentry
W: Chrominius, Bone Serpent, Ashwing Moth (1)
W: Murkalot, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling, Fragment Of Anger (2)
W: Rabbit, Pandaren Earth Spirit, Fishy (1)

I got way behind in that last battle thanks to a bad choice of starting pet and a Mudslide crit. This team was resilient enough to come back and keep its undefeated record. I really, really enjoy Zomstrok. Note to self: use Zomstrok more.

Janus and the Elephant
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Soulrush)
H/B Fragment of Suffering (Spiritfire Bolt, Breath of Sorrow, Drain Power)
H/P Trunks (Smash, Ethereal, Avalanche)

Score: 75.5 (5-0, 20 team points, 5.5 quality win points)
W: Celestial Dragon, Abyssius, Gahz’rooki
W: Darkmoon Tonk, Masked Tanuki, Eternal Strider (0.5)
W: Ore Eater, Teroclaw Hatchling, Ghastly Kid (3)
W: Fragment Of Anger, Frostfur Rat, Dread Hatchling (1)
W: Harbinger Of Flame, Stinker, Ikky (1)

Trunks does very well. That third win was an awesome one.

Moonlit Anger
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Spirit Spikes)
H/S Harmonious Porcupette (Scratch, Moonfire, Tranquility)
P/P Dragonbone Hatchling (Thrash, Adrenaline Rush, Lift-Off)

Score: 55 (3-1-1, 20 team points)
W: Snow Cub, Adder, Arctic Fox Kit
L: Bronze Whelpling, Ghastly Kid, Ore Eater
W: Garden Moth, Dancing Water Skimmer, Masked Tanuki
W: Sky-Bo, Sentinel’s Companion, Viscidus Globule
D: Iron Starlette, Molten Corgi, Fragment Of Anger

I still really like use Thrash birds like the Dragonbone Hatchling. Tranquility was useful a few times to help the bird keep its speed.

Slap That Puppy
H/P Fragment Of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Soulrush)
H/P Leviathan Hatchling (Tail Slap, Poison Spit, Primal Cry)
H/H Worg Pup (Flurry, Crouch, Dazzling Dance)

Score: 81.5 (5-0, 20 team points, 11.5 quality win points)
W: Kun-Lai Runt, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling, Fossilized Hatchling (2.5)
W: Teroclaw Hatchling, Unborn Val’kyr, Sister Of Temptation (2)
W: Snarly, Chuck, Infested Bear Cub (2.5)
W: Mojo, Unborn Val’kyr, Death Adder Hatchling (2)
W: Snarly, Chuck, Infested Bear Cub (2.5)

What a tough set of battles, yet this team always managed to pull out a victory. Dazzling Dance can be such a pain for speedy teams to deal with.

The Arginauts
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Soulrush)
H/S Argi (Gnaw, Gift of Naaru, Headbutt)
P/B Spawn of G’Nathus (Swallow You Whole, Dive, Thunderbolt)

Score: 53.5 (3-2, 20 team points, 3.5 quality win points)
L: Warbot, Ancient Nest Guardian, Direhorn Runt
L: Bonkers, Clockwork Gnome, Fragment Of Anger
W: Ore Eater, Teroclaw Hatchling, Ghastly Kid (3)
W: Pygmy Direhorn, Phoenix Hatchling, Death Talon Whelpguard (0.5)
W: Iron Starlette, Molten Corgi, Fragment Of Anger

After a slow start this team started to build up some steam. That third battle was clearly the highlight victory a three point team with two of the best pets in the game going down. Awesome.

And the winner is… not yet determined. There are eight teams that went undefeated, which means I still have thirty-two battles to go before a winner can be crowned. I will do this within the next week, so you won’t have to wait too long. Go ahead and submit your Young Talbuk teams in the meantime.

Championship Rounds

I can’t quite believe it myself, but after playing each team four more times there are still seven undefeated teams. Somehow the FoA teams just keep managing to win, even when I think I’m outmatched. Part of the reason is that the level of competition is pretty low, but there were also some good teams used by good players that were beaten. I think after this showing the FoA deserves to move from the high to the top tier. So now I will move the seven teams to a “sudden death” elimination style playoff.

Anger Moon
W: Softshell Sapling, Fel Flame, Chrominius
W: Bone Serpent, Worg Pup, Frostwolf Ghostpup
W: Ore Eater, Qiraji Guardling, Bonkers
W: Lil’ Deathwing, Leopard Tree Frog, Brilliant Bloodfeather

Angry Pig Bones
W: Anodized Robo Cub, Minfernal, Ash Spiderling
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Clockwork Rocket Bot, Emperor Crab
W: Servant Of Demidos, Twilight Fiendling, Sunreaver Micro-Sentry
W: Fossilized Hatchling, Anubisath Idol, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling

Bad Vibes
W: Lil’ Bling, Iron Starlette, Unborn Val’kyr
W: Brilliant Bloodfeather, Sea Pony, Puddle Terror
W: Magical Crawdad, Teroclaw Hatchling, Blossoming Ancient
W: Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling, Pandaren Water Spirit, Chrominius

Death From Below
L: Alpine Hare, Teroclaw Hatchling, Unborn Val’kyr
W: Albino Chimaerling, Sky-Bo, Harbinger Of Flame
W: Sunreaver Micro-Sentry, Amber Moth, Molten Corgi
W: Fossilized Hatchling, Anubisath Idol, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling

Elune’s Wrath
W: Infinite Whelpling, Jademist Dancer, Emerald Shale Hatchling
W: Onyxian Whelpling, Disgusting Oozeling, Bone Serpent
W: Sunreaver Micro-Sentry, Amber Moth, Molten Corgi
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Teroclaw Hatchling, Xu-Fu

Fun With Carps
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Molten Corgi, Sister Of temptation
W: Ore Eater, Fel Flame, Nordrassil Wisp
W: Royal Moth, Teroclaw Hatchling, Ashwing Moth
W: Fiendish Imp, Corefire Imp, Death Adder Hatchling

Janus and the Elephant
W: Scourged Whelpling, Infinite Whelpling, Prairie Dog
W: Weebomination, Tolai Hare Pup, Direhorn Runt
W: Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling, Alpine Fox, Amber Moth
W: Lil’ Bling, Unborn Val’kyr, Wild Jade Hatchling

Slap That Puppy
W: Weebomination, Ghastly Kid, Zangar, Crawler
W: Jademist Dancer, Blighthawk, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling
W: Lil’ Bling, Servant Of Demidos, Elementium Geode
W: Corefire Hound, Spirit Crab, Netherspawn

Sudden Death

Round 1
I had a horrible first round of sudden death, losing three out of seven battles. In the first loss I could have used the FoA better against the mechs. In the second loss I was stunned twice by Stonegrinder. Slap That Puppy lost a close one; if Flurry would have hit three on the last turn it would have won, but only two connected.

Anger Moon
L: Anodized Robo Cub, Darkmoon Tonk, Eternal Strider
Final Record: 9-1

Angry Pig Bones
L: Weebomination, Lil’ Tarecgosa, Stonegrinder
Final Record: 9-1

Slap That Puppy
L: Lil’ Bling, Sunreaver Micro-Sentry, Nether Fairie Dragon
Final Record: 9-1

Bad Vibes
W: Eternal Strider, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling, Scourged Whelpling

Elune’s Wrath
W: Teroclaw Hatchling, Teroclaw Hatchling, Nether Fairie Dragonling

Fun With Carps
W: Zandalari Anklerender, Chi-Chi, Sunreaver Micro-Sentry

Janus and the Elephant
W: Teroclaw Hatchling, Teroclaw Hatchling, Nether Fairie Dragonling

Rounds 2-4
It wasn’t until the fourth round of sudden death that I lost again. Once again a mech gave me trouble, once again I should have used the strong elemental damage of the FoA better.

Elune’s Wrath
W: Lost Of Lordaeron, Albino Chimaerling, Abyssius
W: Hatespark, Crimson Whelpling, Zandalari Footslasher
L: Unborn Val’kyr, Molten Corgi, Darkmoon Tonk
Final Record: 11-1

Bad Vibes
W: Draenei Micro Defender, Kun-Lai Runt, Bone Serpent
W: Kun-Lai Runt, Weebomination, Frostwolf Pup
W: Teroclaw Hatchling, Ghastly Kid, Fiendish Imp

Fun With Carps
W: Frostwolf Ppup, Sentinel’s Companion, Kun-Lai Runt
W: Crimson Whelpling, Emerald Turtle, Skywisp Moth
W: Argi, Aqua Strider, Alpine Foxling Kit

Janus and the Elephant
W: Bonkers, Ashwing Moth, Alpine Hare
W: Stonegrinder, Kun-Lai Runt, Swamp Croaker
W: Death Talon Whelpguard, Dark Phoenix Hatcling, Direhorn Runt

Rounds 5-12
The three remaining teams then went on an incredible win streak, with Bad Vibes being the first to give way. Three undead racials were just too much to handle, even with the incredible undead killing power of the Vengeful Porcupette.

Bad Vibes
W: Nordrassil Wisp, Lil’ Bling, Infinite Whelpling
W: Clockwork Gnome, Curious Wolvar Pup, Fossilized Hatchling
W: Bucktooth Flapper, Fel Flame, Dark Phoenix Hatchling
W: Weebomination, Sporeling Sprout, Sentinel’s Companion
W: Bonkers, Alpine Hare, Amber Moth
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Kun-Lai Runt, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling
W: Iron Stalette, Meadowstomper, Mini Mindslayer
L: Bone Serpent, Macabre Marionette, Ghastly Kid
Final Record: 20-1

Fun With Carps
W: Lil’ Bling, Snarly, Chrominius
W: Azure Whelpling, Infinite Whelpling, Hatespark the Tiny
W: Spotted Bell Frog, Leopard Tree Frog, Infinite Whelpling
W: Nightshade Sproutling, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling, Blighthawk
W: Nightshade Sproutling, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling, Blighthawk
W: Fiendish Imp, Ghastly Kid, Death Adder Hatchling
W: Trunks, Qiraji Guardling, Bone Serpent
W: Puddle Terror, Infected Squirrel, Unborn Val’kyr

Janus and the Elephant
W: Darkmoon Eye, Iron Starlette, Syd the Squid
W: Lil’ Bling, Lil’ Smoky, Mr. Bigglesworth
W: Clockwork Gnome, Bonkers, Alterac Brew-Pup*
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Infinite Whelpling, Darkmoon Zeppelin
W: Meadowstomper Calf, Royal Moth, Molten Corgi
W: Onyxian Whelpling, Lunar Lantern, Nether Ray Fry
W: Pandaren Water Spirit, Lil’ Bad Wolf, Minfernal
W: Ikky, Teroclaw Hatchling, Nether Fairie Dragon

Round 13
I was digging in for another long streak of battles (and wins) when a DAH team got the best of me. I thought I played it well enough, not making any glaring errors, but obviously my opponent did a better job than me. My hat goes off to them for beating such a high powered team.

Fun With Carps
L: Death Adder Hatchling, Lifelike Mechanical Frostboar, Death Talon Whelpguard
Final Record: 21-1

Janus and the Elephant
W: Likelike Mechanical Frostboar, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling, Lil’ Ragnaros
Final Record: 22-0

That leaves Bullfeather’s incredible team as this month’s winner. Congratulations! Email at discodoggywow@gmail with your choice of pet. Also let me know if you are on an EU or a US server. I’ll see how far I can take your team undefeated, even at the expense of putting the Bog Bastards (a team that went 27-0) to shame

And finally, I thought it would be nice to add all of the information from the previous competitions:

POTW #1 Imperial Eagle Chick, 14-16, Winner: Vek
POTW #2 Hopling, 27-8, Winner: Liwei
POTM #1 Son Of Sethe, 22-17-3, Winners: Wiff & Wamp
POTM #2 Frostwolf Ghostpup, 47-21-2, Winner: Zero
POTM #3 Teroclaw Hatchling, 71-18-1, Winner: Wamp
POTM #4 Fragment Of Anger, 130-15-2, Winner: Bullfeathers

I hope I added all that up correctly.

April 2015: Fragment Of Anger
I’ve been encountering so many Mechancial Pandaren Dragonlings lately that I wanted this month’s pet to have some sort of counter for the mech and its annoying wooden structures. I haven’t used this pet much, but the word on the street is that Spiritfire Beam takes down decoys handily. Aside from that, who wouldn’t want to use an undead pet with 1546 health. In the first slot you have a choice between Seethe (mmm, mechs) and Spiritfire Bolt. In the second you can choose between Spiritfire Beam and Enrage. Those last two seem fairly straight-forward, but in the third you have a hard choice between Spirit Spikes and Soulrush. I won’t fault you for choosing the 25% proc, just make sure to make many sacrifices to the dice gods on our behalf.

Here are the rules, which have changed slightly since last month:

Each participant will submit one team that includes the pet of the month. Teams must be in by the 10th of the month. Once a team is submitted there is no changing the move set, so please be careful with your submission. No duplicate pets are allowed.

Please use this format:
Team Name (optional)
H/P Fragment Of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Spirit Spikes)
P/S Stonegrinder (Woodchipper,Thunderbolt,Clean-Up)
P/P Twilight Fiendling (Creepy Chomp, Crreping Ooze, Siphon Life)

… as opposed to:
Team Name (optional)
H/P Fragment Of Anger (2,1,2)
P/S Stonegrinder (2,1,1)
P/P Twilight Fiendling (1,2,2)

I like everything to be uniform and the latter creates an extra level of work for me. Thanks

Initially I will play each submitted team an equal number of times. The number of times that I play each team will depend on the number of submissions. I will state this initial number of battles after all teams are submitted. Expect around four initial battles if there is the same level of participation as last month (18 submissions). After the initial battles the top five teams will move onto the championship round, where I will play each team four more times. All undefeated teams will automatically move into the championship round, even if there are more than five. If there is a tie after the championship round then the tied teams will enter a sudden death mode, where each team will play another battle until one team has more wins than the other in sudden death. Quality win points will not factor into sudden death.

Each win will be worth ten points, each draw will be worth five points. A stalemate will be considered a draw. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on either of the top or high-tier list will be worth ten extra points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on the top-tier list (but on the high-tier list) will be worth five extra points. No extra points are awarded for the pet of the month itself.

These extra points are called “team points”.

Teams get extra points for beating higher quality opponents. If your team beats a team with a top-tier pet on it then you earn an extra point for each top-tier pet, if it beats a team with a high-tier pet on it then it’ll earn a half point for each high-tier pet on the enemy team.

Here is the tier list: Top & High Tier List

Note: Some pets have been added to the list since last month.

If you need more explanation about team points you can see examples here: POTW #2

The winner will receive a Blizzard store pet of their choice. Good luck!

Last Month’s Teams:
The Teroclaw Hatchling’s record was 71-18-1.

After playing the Teroclaw Hatchling so much I’m now absolutely certain that it belongs on the top-tier list. In many of the victories it was responsible for carrying the whole team. In fact, there were a few battles where it was able to solo the enemy team. There were numerous battles where I was seemingly losing badly yet the healy bird would make an incredible comeback. Unfortunately, many of these battles were very long, but that’s the nature of battles with healing pets.

The number of quality win points is included in parenthesis after the opposing team.

Gotta Go Fast
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
P/P Stunted Direhorn (Trihorn Charge, Horn Attack, Primal Cry)
S/S Bronze Whelpling (Arcane Slash, Crystal Prison, Lift-Off)

Score: 37.5 (2-3, 15 team points, 2.5 quality win points)
W: Blossoming Ancient, Oily Slimeling, Son Of Sethe (1.5)
W: KLR, EPW, Molten Corgi (1)
L: Unborn Val’kyr, MPD, Nexus Whelpling
L: Unborn Val’kyr, MPD, Death Adder Hatchling
L: Fiendish Imp, MPD, Stunted Direhorn

The Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling was the bane of these Teroclaw Hatchling teams. I went 1-8 against MPD’s over the course of the POTM. It was quite frustrating, but the Teroclaw Hatchling wrecked so many teams it’s only fair that it should have a counter. Gotta Go Fast had the extreme misfortune of running into three MPD teams; the record is more of a result of that unluckiness in the queue than anything else. The last battle was very close and I made a mistake with the timing of Dodge. I guess I let the MPD into my head.

Terror of the Abyssius
P/P Abyssius (Immolate, Flamethrower, Volcano)
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of Animus, Absorb)
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)

Score: 48 (3-1-1, 10 team points, 3 quality win points)
W: Sister Of Temptation, Magical Crawdad, Son Of Sethe (2)
D: Blossoming Ancient, Ghastly Kid, Fiendish Imp*
W: Lil’ Tarecgosa, Jademist Dancer, Molten Corgi (1)
L: Jademist Dancer, Purple Puffer, Ancient Nest Guardian
W: Iron Starlette, Baby Blizzard Bear, Tundra Penguin

*This was a stalemate. Technically I lost because I fled after 65 rounds, but I’m calling it a draw since it was one of those battles that could last indefinitely. I added this to the rules in case this happens again. Volcano stuns created some interesting dynamics.

Moonraker
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
S/S Hyjal Wisp (Arcane Blast, Evanescence, Wish)
H/S Emerald Whelpling (Breath, Moonfire, Tranquility)

Score: 51.5 (3-2, 20 team points, 1.5 quality win points)
W: Everbloom Peachick, Corefire Imp, Iron Starlette
W: Warbot, Nordrassil Wisp, Father Winter’s Helper (1)
W: Lil’ Bling, Ancient Nest Guardian, Sunreaver Micro-Sentry (0.5)
L: Death Talon Whelpguard, Sister Of Temptation, Stonegrinder
L: MPD, Magical Crawdad, Unborn Val’kyr

This team was a challenge for me to play; out of all the different PvP strategies available, heavy healing is the one that I have the least practice with. The team did well enough even with my healing noobiness. My MPD woes continued.

What The Grell
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
H/S Argi (Gnaw, Gift of the Naaru, headbutt)
S/B Gregarious Grell (Burn, Phase Shift, Cauterize)

Score: 53 (3-2, 20 team points, 3 quality win points)
W: Kun-Lai Runt, Ghastly Kid, Xu-Fu (1.5)
W: Lucky Quillen Cub, Sand Kitten, Corehound Pup
L: MPD, Lil’ Ragnaros, Molten Corgi
W: Murkalot, Blossoming Ancient, Chi-Chi (1.5)
L: Weebomination, Abyssius, Tideskipper

It was fun to use the Grell again; I rememeber way, way back I leveled a Blighthawk and the Gregarious Grell together in the PvP queue. I had that last battle all lined up, I was going to bring the grell in on the round that Geyser went off then clean up with the Teroclaw Hatchling. Instead a crit took him out early, which resulted in the Teroclaw Hatchling having to eat a strong Geyser. Oh well.

Undead Free Zone
S/S P/P Golden Dawnfeather (Peck, Sunlight, Love Potion)
P/P Sun Sproutling (Club, Photosynthesis, Fist of the Forest)
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)

Score: 60.5 (4-1, 20 team points, 0.5 quality win points)
W: Panda Cub, Dark Phoenix Hatchling, Eternal Strider
W: Pandaren Water Spirit, Curious Wolvar Pup, Darkmoon Tonk
L: Nexus Whelpling, Nether Fairie Dragon, Unborn Val’kyr
W: Garden Frog, Arcane Eye, Emerald Proto-Whelp (0.5)
W: Soul Of The Forge, Teroclaw Hatchling,

Oops, I just realized after the last battle that I used a P/P Golden Dawnfeather instead of the S/S that you submitted. The P/P certainly helped in that last battle, as did the P/P Sun Sproutling.

Can You Feel The Love?
S/S Lovebird Hatchling (Alpha Strike, Lovestruck, Pheromones)
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
P/S Stonegrinder (Screeching Gears, Thunderbolt, Clean-Up)

Score: 61.5 (4-1, 20 team points, 1.5 quality win points)
W: Peddlefeet, Menagerie Custodian, Water Waveling
L: Ominous Flame, Robo-Chick, Wild Crimson Hatchling
W: Thundertail Flapper, Darkmoon Tonk, Unborn Val’kyr (1)
W: Molten Corgi, Stinker, Dread Hatchling (0.5)
W: Stonegrinder, Iron Starlette, Peddlefeet

Umm, looking at that loss makes me scratch my head and ask “how?”. I love the Robo-Chick, but I shouldn’t have lost that one. I remember the 325 speed dragon being problematic, but I don’t remember the details.

Lost Dragonclaw
S/S Albino Chimaeraling (Shadowflame, Call Darkness, Lift-Off)
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Alpha Strike, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
H/H Lost of Lordaeron (Shadow Shock, Arcane Explosion, Curse Of Doom)

Score: 62 (4-1, 20 team points, 2 quality win points)
W: Wretched Servant, Fragment Of Desire, Sunblade Micro-Defender
W: Kun-Lai Runt, Anubisath idol, Lil’ Tarecgosa (1.5)
W: Sporeling Sprout, Bone Serpent, Argi
L: Unborn Val’kyr, Bone Serpent, Magical Crawdad
W: Pandaren Water Spirit, Chrominius, Clockwork Gnome (0.5)

I really enjoyed using the LoL. I play it all the time on revenge teams against flyers but other than that I haven’t found much use for it. It did really well on this team.

More Tempting When Drunk
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
S/B Sister of Temptation (Shadow Shock, Siphon Life, Haunting Song)
H/H Skunky Alemental (Brew Bolt, Skunky Brew, and Inebriate)

Score: 62 (4-1, 20 team points, 2 quality win points)
W: Eternal Strider, Teroclaw Hatchling, Viscidus Globule (1)
W: Abyssius, Lifelike Mechanical Boar, Skywisp Moth
L: MPD, Sister Of Temptation, Chrominius
W: Kun-Lai Runt, Golden Dawnfeather, Pocket Reaver (0.5)
W: Chrominius, Albino River Calf, Son Of Sethe (1)

As with any rng move, Inebriate is great when it works, when it doesn’t, not so great. Thankfully the Teroclaw Hatchling was good enough to carry the elemental when the dice gods weren’t on my side.

We Are 18
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Alpha Strike, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
H/H Weebomination (Cleave, Consume Corpse, Corpse Explosion)
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Spitfire Beam, Soulrush)

Score: 62.5 (5-0, 10 team points, 2.5 quality win points)
W: Blossoming Ancient, Feline Familiar, Netherspace Abyssal (0.5)
W: Phoenix Hatchling, Dread Hatchling, Fragment Of Desire (1)
W: Dark Whelpling, Onyxian Whelpling, Zandalari Toenibbler
W: Servant Of Demidos, Son Of Animus, Clockwork Gnome (1)
W: Infinite Whelpling, Infinite Whelpling, Infinite Whelpling

Interesting fact: Sleeping Gas never procced a sleep in that last battle, even though the whelpling user was alternating between it and Weakness. Going undefeated is always nice. Not receiving any team points for the Weebomination really brought the score down. Team points may need to be reevaluated in the future, but for now I’m not changing the rule.

Pumped Panda
H/S Sunfur Panda (Scratch, Hibernate, Sunlight)
S/S Hyjal Wisp (Arcane Blast, Evanescence, Wish)
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)

Score: 63 (4-1, 20 team points, 3 quality win points)
W: Soul Of The Forge, Frostwolf Ghostpup, Hydraling (1.5)
W: Syd the Squid, Swamp Croaker, Purple Puffer
W: Clockwork Gnome, Clockwork Gnome, Xu-Fu (1.5)
L: Magical Crawdad, Xu-Fu, Celestial Dragon
W: Harmonious Porcupette, Vengeful Porcupette, Spectral Porcupette

Another team that I would have never made myself. I’m always frightened to use Hibernate because I feel so vulnerable but there were a few times when I was able to use it successfully. Sunny day does such a nice job activating the beast racial.

Ward’re you looking at?
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
P/S Puddle Terror (Punch, Nature’s Ward, Sunlight)
S/S Nightshade Sproutling (Poison Lash, Nature’s Ward, Fist of the Forest)

Score: 63 (4-1, 20 team points, 3 quality win points)
W: Gilnean Raven, Flayer Youngling, Emperor Crab (2)
W: Crow, Pandaren Water Spirit, Stunted Direhorn (1.5)
L: Fiendish Imp, Bronze Whelpling, Sen’Jin Fetish
W: Singing Sunflower, Phoenix Hatchling, Mojo (0.5)
W: Fluxfire Feline, Feline Familiar, Celestial Dragon

The only loss came from an incredibly tough team to beat. The imp/fetish combo can win most of the time with a decent third; add a top-tier third like the Bronze Whelpling and it’s a force to be reckoned with.

The New Broom
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Spiritfire Beam, Soulrush)
S/S Enchanted Broom (Broom, Sweep, Wind-up)
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)

Score: 64 (4-1, 20 team points, 4 quality win points)
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Stitched Pup, Doom Bloom (1 qwp)
L: Ore Eater, Netherspace Abyssal, Son Of Sethe
W: Anubisath Idol, Albino Chimaeraling, Kun-Lai Runt (1.5)
W: Garden Frog, Arcane Eye, Emerald Proto-Whelp (0.5)
W: Molten Corgi, Stonegrinder, Frostwolf Ghostpup (1)

If not for facing one of the toughest teams around this team would have been undefeated. Blame Wiff! It was fun to use the broom again. Pets like the broom that have been around and useful since the beginning of pet battles should win an award. The Fragment Of Anger is an amazing new pet, I can’t wait to see this month’s teams.

Bleedin Bird
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Alpha Strike, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
P/S Stonegrinder (Woodchipper, Thunderbolt, Clean-Up)
P/P Frostwolf Pup (Flurry, Howl, Maul)

Score: 65.5 (4-1, 20 team points, 5.5 quality win points)
L: Ashwing Moth, Ashwing Moth, Ashwing Moth
W: Anubisath Idol, Chrominius, Moonkin Hatchling (1)
W: Blighthawk, Jademist Dancer, Emperor Crab (3)
W: Polar Cub, Iron Starlette, Cinder Kitten
W: Anubisath Idol, Dread Raven, Lil’ XT (1.5)

If not for some unlucky rng against the moths this team would have been undefeated. Stupid moths. Beating a clonedance team with a crab was pretty damn satisfying.

Bronze Medal
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
S/S Bronze Whelpling (Arcane Slash, Crystal Prison, Lift-Off)
H/P Zomstrok (Infected Claw, Shell Shield, Carpnado)

Score: 65.5 (4-1, 20 team points, 5.5 quality win points)
W: Scourged Whelpling, Nexus Whelpling, Swamp Croaker (1)
W: Teroclaw Hatchling, Lil’ Bling, Molten Corgi (1.5)
L: MPD, MPD, Weebomination
W: Anubisath Idol, Chrominius, Clockwork Gnome (1.5)
W: Anubisath Idol, Darkmoon Raven, Corefire Imp (1.5)

I really enjoyed using Zomstrok, I need to keep the lobstrosity on my radar. Two more dead idols, how lovely is that? Did I mention that I lost to MPDs a lot?

Don’t care about the weather
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
P/P Servant of Demidos (Magic Sword, Siphon Anima, Soulrush)
S/S Leopard Tree Frog (Tongue Lash, Healing Wave, Frog Kiss)

Score: 65.5 (4-1, 20 team points, 5.5 quality win points)
W: Chrominius, Son Of Animus, Ore Eater (1.5)
W: Fiendish Imp, Ghastly Kid, Stunted Direhorn (2.5)
W: Celestial Dragon, Arcane Eye, Nexus Whelpling
W: Magical Crawdad, Brilliant Bloodfeather, Singing Sunflower (1.5)
L: Weebomination, Iron Starlette, Flamering Moth

Damn, that last battle was close. I swapped the frog in to eat the Corpse Explode but got hit with a Haymaker instead. You can tell how hard I was trying by the crappy screenshot. Frog Kiss saved me in a few battles. Beating that sunny day team was a brilliant victory.

Note: Here’s why I’m adding in the championship round. All three of the following teams went undefeated, so the outcome was decided by quality win points. While that’s not at all unfair, it is quite unsatisfying. I really wanted to have some sort of playoff system this month, but changing the rules in the middle of the competition would have been unfair in my opinion.

Terror Trap
H/P Terorclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
H/P Fragment of Anger (Seethe, Enrage, Soulrush)
H/H Grotesque (Shadow Shock, Agony, Ghostly Bite)

Score: 71.5 (5-0, 20 team points, 1.5 quality win points)
W: Sinister Squashling, Netherspawn, Iron Starlette
W: Lil’ Bling, Junglebeak, Lil’ Deathwing (1.5)
W: Anubisath Idol, Temple Snake, Phoenix Hawk Hatchling (1)
W: Young Talbuk, Frostfur Rat, Bone Serpent
W: Twilight Iguana, Spectral Porcupette, Vengeful Porcupette

I didn’t think that the Grotesque would do as well as it did. Having an 1806 health undead pet contributes a lot to a team. I wasn’t a big fan of Agony, but it had it’s moments. Having a DoT, a normal attack and a nuke made the Grotesque useful in many situations, even if they all were undead attacks. Nice work.

Demiterror
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
P/P Servant of Demidos (Magic Sword, Siphon Anima, Soulrush)
S/S Lifelike Mechanical Frostboar (Missile, Pig Out, Decoy)

Score: 76.5 (5-0, 20 team points, 6.5 quality win points)
W: MPD, Fossilized Hatchling, Son Of Animus (2.5)
W: Molten Corgi, Mini Mindslayer, Icespine Hatchling
W: Emperor Crab, Ghastly Kid, Fiendish Imp (3)
W: Tol’Vir Scarab, Wildhammer Gryphon Hatchling, Infinite Whelpling
W: Fossilized Hatchling, Dun Morogh Cub, Celestial Dragon (1)

Oh so incredibly close. Decoy on a fast pet like the mech boar is so useful. Pig Out often seemed rather weak, but I guess that’s the price you pay for going so fast. It obviously worked out just as well, great team!

And the winner is…

Teronaxus by Wamp
H/P Terorclaw Hatchling (Claw, Dodge, Nature’s Ward)
P/B Spawn of G’nathus (Swallow You Whole, Lightning Shield, Thunderbolt)
P/P Nexus Whelpling (Frost Breath, Mana Surge, Arcane Storm)

Score: 77 (5-0, 20 team points, 7 quality win points)
W: Anubisath Idol, Son Of Sethe, Emperor Crab (3)
W: Fel Flame, Nether Fairie Dragon, Kun-Lai Runt (0.5)
W: Arctic Hare, Arctic Hare, Sprite Darter Hatchling (2)
W: Son Of Sethe, Netherspace Abyssal, Ancient Nest Guardian (1)
W: Clockwork Gnome, Arcane Eye, Iron Starlette (0.5)

I really wish I remembered the details of the first battle since that’s the battle which set Teronaxus apart from the other undefeated teams. I always hear people talk up the Spawn Of G’Nathus and this showed that the aquatic pet can perform very well.

Thanks everyone for your participation. Congrats Wamp! Email me which store pet you want and whether you’re on EU or US. I still have your info but it won’t hurt to double check.

March 2015: Teroclaw Hatchling
While the Frostwolf Ghostpup from last month is probably my favorite of the new pets, this tough bird is a close second. I’ve been using the move set of Claw, Dodge and Nature’s Ward. The combination of an avoid and an HoT makes it difficult to take down the Teroclaw Hatchling’s health, which means you can keep your precious flying racial speed bonus intact for longer. I look forward to seeing your teams. You should note that the tier list has been updated to include 6.0 pets, so be careful not to lose any team points unintentionally. There is also a new scoring aspect described below.

Here are the rules:

Each participant will submit one team that includes the pet of the month. I will play each submitted team an equal number of times. Each win will be worth ten points, each draw will be worth five points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on either of the top or high tier list will be worth ten extra points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on the top tier list (but on the high tier list) will be worth five extra points. No extra points are awarded for the pet of the week itself.

These extra points are called “team points”.

With more people participating each month it means that I’ll be doing less battles with each team. In order to prevent ties I’m going to add a new scoring feature to differentiate the final scores. It’ll be called “quality win points”. If your team beats a team with a top tier pet on it then you earn an extra point for each top tier pet, if it beats a team with a high tier pet on it then it’ll earn a half point for each high tier pet on the enemy team.

Here is the tier list: Top & High Tier List

If you need more explanation about team points you can see examples here: POTW #2

The winner will receive a Blizzard store pet of their choice!

POTM #2 Results
First of all I’d like to thanks all of the participants. Once again I had a lot of fun with all of the different teams and I was able to try some pets and strategies that I normally wouldn’t have.

Rewining Try
P/P Frostwolf Ghostpup (Scratch, Refuge, Ghostly Bite)
S/S Frostfur Rat (Sneak Attack, Refuge, Call Darkness)
H/P Axebeak Hatchling (Slicing Wind, Rain Dance, Nocturnal Strike)

Score: 50 (3-4, 20 team points)
W: Anubisath Idol, Pandaren Water Spirit, Alpine Foxling
L: Chi-Chi, Qiraji Guardian, Ghastly Kid
L: Pandaren Water Spirit, Jademist Dancer, Chrominius
L: Kovok, Weebomination, MPD
W: Tolai Hare, Thunertail Flapper, Qiraji Guardling
W: Corefire Imp, Unborn Val’kyr, Hydraling
L: Fragment Of Anger, Clockwork Gnome, Restless Shadeling

Any team that beats an idol right off the bat is fine by me :). I was so excited about Refuge when I first heard about it and started using it; as time went on I began to realize that Haunting Song is my preferred move in the Ghostpup’s middle slot. I had some issues with Slicing Winds only hitting once when it needed to hit more. I’m not a huge fan of the 100-66-33% moves for exactly that reason. The high point was the sixth battle against the Unborn Val’kyr and Hydraling; that was a quality win.

Duck and Weave
P/P Frostwolf Ghostpup (Scratch, Refuge, Frolick)
S/S Rabbit (Flurry, Dodge, Burrow)
P/P Murkalot (Blessed Hammer, Falling Murloc, Shieldstorm)

Score: 50 (5-2, 0 team points)
W: Pterrordax Hatchling, Elfin Rabbit, Sunreaver Micro-Sentry
W: Warbot, Scourged Whelpling, Alpine Hare
W: Fossilized Hatchling, Wild Golden Hatchling, Personal World Destroyer
L: Hydraling, Ghastly Kid, Dread Hatchling
W: Widget the Departed, Fossilized Hatchling, Creepy Crate
L: Fiendish Imp, Wild Golden Hatchling, Fossilized Hatchling
W: Mini Minslayer, Stiched Pup, Swamp Croaker

There really was a lot of Ducking and Weaving going on here. I found myself wishing that I had some more attack options in a few battles, but the flipside was that people often played like they were expecting Righteous Inspiration. The final score makes me think that the penalty for using top tier pets might be too harsh, especially if I’m only going to seven battles.

Hair Club For Darkness
P/P Frostwolf Ghostpup (Scratch, Refuge, Ghostly Bite)
P/P Frostfur Rat (Sneak Attack, Refuge, Call Darkness)
S/S Frostfur Rat: (Sneak Attack, Refuge, Call Darkness)

Score: 55 (3-3-1, 20 team points)
L: Blossoming Ancient, Infinite Whelpling, Iron Starlette
L: Scourged Whelpling, Sunreaver Micro-Sentry, Scourged Whelpling
L: Spring Rabbit, Blighthawk, Death Talon Whelpguard
W: Anubisath Idol, Molten Corgi, Chi-Chi
W: Forest Moth, Spawn Of Onyxia, Celestial Dragon
W: Yu’la, Weebomination, Weebomination
D: Lil’ Ragnaros, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling, Teroclaw Hatchling

This team made me pull my hair out a few times. When you have your good strategy all planned out and then you miss because of darkness…aaahhhh! This is why I don’t regularly run darkness teams. After a poor start this team was able to win three in a row, that’s awesome. Thankfully I still have a thick head of hair remaining in case I need to play more darkness teams.

Filthy Frolickers
H/S Filthling (Absorb, Stench, Corrosion)
P/P Frostwolf Ghostpup (Scratch, Haunting Song, Frolick)
S/S Dandelion Frolicker (Bite, Frolick, Kick)

Score: 60 (4-3, 20 team points)
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Grommloc, Molten Corgi (49 rounds >.<)
L: Kovok, Weebomination, MPD
L: Anubisath Idol, Sporeling Sprout, Unborn Val’kyr
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Crow, Gilnean Raven
W: Anubisath Idol, Chrominius, Qiraji Guardling
W: Corefire Imp, Hydraling, Unborn Val’kyr
L: Singing Sunflower, Lesser Voidcaller, Netherspawn

These frolickers ended up being a load of fun, much more than I thought I would have. Obviously they lived or died by the rng.

Thrash Or Dash
P/P Imperial Eagle Chick (Thrash,Cyclone,Lift-Off)
P/B Stormwing (Quills, Call Lightning, Thunderbolt)
P/P Frostwolf Ghostpup (Scratch, Haunting song, Ghostly Bite)

Score: 60 (4-3, 20 team points)
L: Unborn Val’kyr, Warbot, Fiendish Imp (imp survived with 86 hp)
L: Murkalot, MPD, Blackfuse Bombling
W: Trunks, Ore Eater, MPD
W: Lanticore Spawnling, Ruby Droplet, Iron Starlette
W: Widow Spiderling, Ethereal Soul-Trader, Living Sandling
L: Curios Oracle Hatchling, Yu’la, Syd the Squid
W: Pandaren Fire Spirit, Phoenix Hatchling, Menagerie Custodian

I hadn’t used Stormwing a lot before this. I’m glad I finally did, it can be a real force.

Metal Speed
P/P Frostwolf Ghostpup(Scratch, Haunting Song, Ghostly Bite)
P/P Lifelike Mechanical Frostboar(Missile, Rebuild, Decoy)
P/S Iron Starlette(Wind-Up, Powerball, Supercharge)

Score: 70 (5-2, 20 team points)
W: Shrine Fly, Sifang Otter, Tol’Vir Scarab
L: Fiendish Imp, Son Of Sethe, Spirit Crab
W: Anubisath Idol, Terrible Turnip, Pandaren Monk
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Softshell Sapling, Netherspawn
W: Spawn Of G’Nathus, Molten Corgi, Warbot
W: Corehound Pup, Pterrordax Hatchling, Clockwork Gnome
L: Blossoming Ancient, Unborn Val’kyr, Crawling Claw

Both of the losses came from teams with elemental damage, which is always the risk of running two of the same family. The Iron Starlette can really put a hurt on teams without avoidance. The P/S breed was a good choice was a good choice due to its ability to get up to speed quickly.

Clonestorm
P/P Frostwolf Ghostpup (Scratch, Haunting Song, Ghostly Bite)
P/B Royal Peacock (Savage Talon, Arcane Storm, Rain Dance)
H/P Blighthawk (Infected Claw, Ghostly Bite, Cyclone)

Score: 70 (6-1, 10 team points)
W: Rapana Whelk, Core Hound Pup, Pandaren Water Spirit)
W: Weebomination, Unborn Val’kyr, Blue Clockwork Rocket Bot
L: Murkalot, Blackfuse Bombling, MPD
W: MPD, Macabre Marionette, Magical Crawdad
W: KLR, KLR, Fel Flame
W: Anubisath Idol, Fire-Prof Roach, Pocket Reaver
W: Dark Phoenix Hatchling, Treasure Goblin, Dread Raven

The dreaded RI and BFB combo was this team’s only loss. The peacock is a brilliant choice since it has great synergy with both Ghostly Bite and Cyclone.

Necro At Night
S/S Qiraji Guardling (Crush, Sandstorm, Blackout Kick)
P/P Servant of Demidos (Magic Sword, Siphon Anima, Soulrush)
P/P Frostwolf Ghostpup (Scratch, Haunting Song, Ghostly Bite)

Score: 70 (5-2, 20 team points)
W: Puddle Terror, Iron Starlette, Twilight Wasp
L: Soul Of The Aspects, Clockwork Gnome, Mini Diablo
L: Sky-Bo, Jademist Dancer, Spring Rabbit
W: Droplet Of Y’Shaarj, Weebomination, MPD
W: Iron Starlette, Molten Corgi, Hydraling
W: Iron Starlette, Molten Corgi, Hydraling
W: Jademist Dancer, Lil’ Bling, Chrominius

I’m loving this competition for myself because it makes me play pets that I don’t usually use. In this case it was the S/S Qiraji Guardling. Even though I’m still not too goo goo for Sandstorm the Qiraji Guardling’s speed and stun made for some nice control.

Trunk Ate It
P/P Frostwolf Ghostpup (Scratch, Refuge, Ghostly Bite)
S/S Lovebird Hatchling (Alpha Strike, Lovestruck, Pheromones)
H/P Trunks (Smash, Ethereal, Avalanche)

Score: 80 (6-1, 20 team points)
W: Lil’ Deathwing, Unborn Val’kyr, Baneling
W: Water Waveling, Biletoad, Iron Starlette
L: Kovok, Weebomination, MPD
W: Crimson Geode, Baby Ape, Huge Toad
W: Fiendish Imp, Wild Golden Hatchling, Fossilized Hatchling
W: Rocket Chicken, Twilight Wasp, Feline Familiar
W: Corefire Imp, Mr. Bigglesworth, Fungal Abomination

Oh so close. That damn Kovokination team has been a thorn in my side for months and it was all that kept this team from winning the competition. I’m always excited about a new pet with a stun; the Lovebird Hatchling didn’t let me down. Trunks performed wonderfully,too.

Congratulations to Zero for this winning submisson:

Ghastly, Grastly or Rick Astley
P/P Frostwolf Ghostpup (Scratch, Haunting Song, Ghostly Bite)
P/B Royal Peacock (Savage Talon, Arcane Storm, Feign Death)
H/H Ghastly Kid (Diseased bite, Ethereal, Ghostly Bite)

Score: 85 (6-0-1, 20 team points)
W: Clockwork Gnome, Spirit Crab, Zandalari Toenibbler
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Stitched Pup, Death Adder Hatchling
W: Feverbite Hatching, Fossilized Hatchling, Terrible Turnip
W: Amberbarb Wasp, Molten Corgi, Golden Civet
W: Amberbarb Wasp, Anubisath Idol, Dreanei Micro Defender
D: Mini Mindslayer, Mini Mindslayer, Feverbite Hatchling
W: Emerald Proto-Whelp, Strand Crab, Netherspace Abyssal

Again it’s the Royal Peacock teaming up with the Frostwolf Ghostpup for some Ghostly Bite madness. I’d like to say more but it’s getting late and I don’t want to put this off for another day. Zero, email me at discodoggywow@gamail.com with the pet that you want. Let me know if you’re on a US or EU server.

Thanks everyone! Can’t wait to see the Teroclaw Hatchling teams.

Here’s a few pics that I couldn’t fit above:

February 2015: Frostwolf Ghostpup
This month’s pet is one that I’ve been relying heavily upon to deal with all of the AoE spam in the current meta, the Frostwolf Ghostpup. It’s the middle move that makes this pet so interesting, where there’s a choice between Refuge and Haunting Song. Refuge gives the Frostwolf Ghostpup and any critter allies a block, while Haunting Song is a very powerful AoE heal. I always use Scratch and Ghostly Bite, but perhaps someone will find a good use for Sneak Attack or Frolick. What will your team be?

Here’s a quick run down of the rules:

Each participant will submit one team that includes the pet of the month. I will play each submitted team an equal number of times. Each win will be worth ten points, each draw will be worth five points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on either of the top or high tier list will be worth ten extra points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on the top tier list (but on the high tier list) will be worth five extra points. No extra points are awarded for the pet of the week itself.

These extra points are called “team points”.

Here is the tier list: Top & High Tier List

If you need more explanation about team points you can see examples here: POTW #2

The winner will receive a Blizzard store pet of their choice!

Oh, get your teams in quick since I plan on continuing to use the Frostwolf Ghostpup regularly. I wouldn’t want to snipe your team like I did from Wamp last month.

So how did all of last month’s Son Of Sethe teams do?

The Undying
P/S Son of Sethe (Plaqued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Drain Blood)
P/P Golden Dawn Feather (Quills, Sunlight, Love Potion)
P/S Crazy Carrot (Ironbark, Aged Yolk, Blistering Cold)

Score: 45 (2-1-4, 20 team points)
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Chrominius, Fel Flame
L: Emerald Proto-Whelp, Xu-Fu, Servant Of Demidos
L: Scourged Whelpling, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling, Nexus Whelpling
L: Crystal Spider, Garden Frog, Eternal Strider (44 rounds, yuck)
D: Lil’ Bling, Fossilized Hatchling, Wild Golden Hatchling
W: Pandaren Water Spirit, Unborn Val’kyr, Iron Starlette
L: Alpine Foxling, Kun-Lai Runt, Nether Fairie Dragon

It obviously didn’t help this team win a lot, but Touch Of The Animus and Blistering Cold together added up to hilarious heals. I couldn’t get this to work in sunlight too often. Honestly I’m pretty bad at sunlight teams.

Hunting Dots
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Drain Blood)
H/S Tiny Bog Beast (Clobber, Lash,P oison Lash)
P/S Zandalari Anklerender (Hunting Party, Primal Cry, Black Claw)

Score: 50 (3-4, 20 team points)
L: Jademist Dancer, Spring Rabbit, Brilliant Kaliri (had to use raptor against dancer)
W: Anubisath Idol, Clockwork Gnome, Onyxian Whelpling
L: Silky Moth, Grey Moth, Grey Moth (crit loss)
L: Silky Moth, Infected Squirrel, Pandaren Water Spirit
W: Droplet Of Y’Shaarj, Scourged Whelpling, Spirit Crab
W: Iron Starlette, Chrominius, Lost Of Lordaeron
L: Stonegrinder, Snarly, Infested Bear Cub

There were too many times when I just couldn’t deal with the extremely low health of the raptor. You can chalk that up to my own inexperience with the raptors. The last battle I could have won if I had played it smart, but I had a total brain fart and stayed in for a bleeding Maul. That’s funny because this is my own team. Speaking of that, I face my own teams way too much now. Someone on my meta thinks the point of this blog is for me to make teams for them to copy. It’s really my hope that people can use the examples and guide to start creating their own teams. Now that you have a few wins under belt make your own damn teams! I had to get that off of my chest lol.

Moonshine
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Drain Blood)
S/S Nether Faerie Dragon (Arcane Blast, Evanescence, Moonfire)
S/S Sporeling Sprout (Jab, Creeping Fungus, Crouch)

Score: 50 (3-4, 20 team points)
W: Anubisath Idol, Unborn Val’kyr, Chrominius
L: Unborn Val’kyr, Anubisath Idol, Kun-Lai Runt (1v1 vs. valk at end, 2 crits in a row)
L: Unborn Val’kyr, Unborn Val’kyr, Infected Squirrel
W: Axebeak Hatchling, Emperor Crab, Netherwhelp
L: Lil’ Deathwing, Fel Flame, Dark Phoenix Hatchling (back to back darkness misses)
L: Weebomination, Lil’ Ragnaros, Lil XT
W: Waterfly, Corefire Imp, Iron Starlette

This team was definitely on the wrong side of rng. In two of the battles highly unlikely back to back crits and then misses were the sole cause of the loss. I’ve thought about adding a strength of schedule modifier to the scoring but I’m trying to keep it as simple as possible. If I had, Moonshine would have benefitted from it by facing all of those valks and idols.

Bullfeathers
S/B Firewing (Alpha Strike, Sunlight, Murder)
S/S Cogblade Raptor (Batter, Screech, Exposed Wounds)
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Drain Blood)

Score: 55 (3-1-3, 20 team points)
W: Clockwork Gnome, Emerald Proto-Whelp, Arcane Eye
L: Clockwork Gnome, Fel Flame, Wolpertinger
W: Golden Dawnfeather, Disgusting Oozeling, Iron Starlette
W: Ghostly Skull, Blighthawk, Kun-Lai Runt
L: Stunted Direhorn, Fossilized Hatchling, Servant Of Demidos
D: Disgusting Oozeling, Fel Flame, Garden Frog
L: Lil’ Bling, Kun-Lai Runt, Chrominius

I’m not very good at Sunlight teams. Someone else might do better with this team but I couldn’t seem to get a good flow with it.

More Spores
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Lift-off)
P/S Sentinel’s Companion (Peck, Soulrush, Moonfire)
P/P Sporeling Sprout (Charge, Creeping Fungus, Crouch)

Score: 65 (4-1-2, 20 team points)
W: Clock Em’, Harpy Youngling, Mud Jumper
L: Iron Starlette, Iron Starlette, Xu-Fu
D: Clockwork Gnome, Lil’ Bad Wolf, Onyxian Whelpling
W: Fossilized Hatchling, Wild Jade Hatchling, Lil XT
W: Tiny Snowman, Clockwork Gnome, Zandalari Toenibbler
L: Nexus Whelpling, Warbot, Lil’ XT
W: Anubisath Idol, Chrominius, Pandaren Water Spirit

I found myself really wishing for Jab rather than Charge since I needed the damage more than the priority most of the time. Soulrush stun procs can really turn a battle around.

This month seven battles wasn’t enough to separate the two winning teams. Yes, there was a tie for first place! Congratulations to both Wiff and Wamp for these teams:

Torturer’s Tools submitted by Wiff
P/P Netherspace Abyssal (Immolate, Immolation, Nether Gate)
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Drain Blood)
S/S Ore Eater (Acid Touch, Shell Armor, Body Slam)

Score: 90 (7-0, 20 team points)
W: Death Adder Hatchling, Weebomination, Molten Corgi
W: Scourged Whelpling, Terrible Turnip, Eternal Strider
W: Arctic Hare, Lil’ Ragnaros, Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling
W: Death Adder Hatchling, Death Adder Hatchling, Death Adder Hatchling
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Darkmoon Tonk, Murkalot
W: Dandelion Frolicker, Feline Familiar, Ikky
W: Oily Slimeling, Stunted Direhorn, Lil’ Tarecgosa

While Touch Of The Animus is a good move in general, it turns into a great move when paired with unavoidable damage, like field effects or back line Immolation ticks. The Ore Eater also received some awesome heals from the Son Of Sethe’s moves. Combine this with the incredibly strong Shell Armor on the Ore Eater and you have a team that couldn’t be taken down, at least not in seven battles. I was worried that the Netherspace Abyssal’s slow speed would give me trouble, but it wasn’t as much of an issue as I thought. A fun team to play (and win with)!

Alternate Sethe submitted by Wamp
H/P Fel Flame (Flame Breath, Scorched Earth, Conflagrate)
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of the Animus, Drain Blood)
H/P Teroclaw Hatchling (Alpha Strike, Hawk Eye, Nature’s Ward)

W: Lost Of Lordaeron, Undercity Cockroach, Tirisfal Batling
W: Anubisath Idol, Viscidus Globule, Fel Flame
W: Lost Of Lordaeron, Anodized Robo Cub, Crimson Shale Hatchling
W: Lost Of Lordaeron, Harbinger Of Flame, Servant Of Demidos
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Stitched Pup, Arctic Hare
W: Lost Of Lordaeron, Chrominius, Dread Hatchling
W: Sen’Jin Fetish, Vengeful Porcupette, Spineclaw Crab

Just like I mentioned above it’s unavoidable damage that makes Touch Of The Animus so insanely good. In this case it was scorched earth that gave the Fel Flame the amazing heals. I wished that I had Dodge instead of Hawk Eye on a few occasions, but obviously that didn’t lead to a loss. Nice work!

Wiff and Wamp please email me at discodoggywow@gmail.com with the store pet that you want. I’ll email you the confirmation code.

Thanks for everyone’s teams! I had a really fun time and got some experience playing some pets and strategies that I normally wouldn’t have played. I look forward to seeing all of the Frostwolf Ghostpup teams.

January 2015: Son Of Sethe
Instead of a weekly thing this will work much better as a monthly. We’re off to a late start already, but this will be the first month of the competition, January 2015.

This month we have a great pet to work with, what is in my opinion one of the best pets of the new expansion, the Son Of Sethe. With Touch Of The Animus and Plagued Blood to bring the heals this pet can provide some excellent support to its team mates. At least that’s what I’ve been doing. Perhaps you have a different use for it. Either way, I’m looking forward to seeing what you can come up with!

The end date will be January 31st, please get your teams in sometime this week so I have plenty of time to play them. With three weeks between now and then I should be able to get a lot more battles in than last time.

Just a quick note in case you didn’t notice: Lil’ Bling has been added to the high tier list.

Here’s a quick run down of the rules:

Each participant will submit one team that includes the pet of the month. I will play each submitted team an equal number of times. Each win will be worth ten points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on either of the top or high tier list will be worth ten extra points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on the top tier list (but on the high tier list) will be worth five extra points. No extra points are awarded for the pet of the week itself.

These extra points are called “team points”.

Here is the tier list: Top & High Tier List

If you need more explanation about team points you can see examples here: POTW #2

Oh, how could I forget to mention that the winner will receive a Blizzard store pet of their choice!

POTW #2 results
Now let’s see how the Hopling teams from the last competition did.

DoT Off
S/S Hopling (Tongue Lash, Poison Lash, Backflip)
S/B Clockwork Gnome (Metal Fist, Repair, Build Turret)
P/P Jade Oozeling (Absorb, Corrosion, Acidic Goo)

Score: 35 (Record 2-3, 15 team points)
L: Unborn Val’kyr, Stitched Pup, Arctic Hare
L: Zangar Crawler, MPD, Jade Oozeling
W: Ghastly Kid, Ikky, Kovok
L: Anubisath Idol, Scourged Whelpling, Blighthawk
W: Father Winter’s Helper, Arctic Hare, Unborn Val’kyr

In both wins the Acidic Goo, Corrosion and Absorb combo was great against the undead pets. It was able to kill the valk on the back line after it ressed. It’s always lovely when that happens. I think I was only able to use Repair once effectively. I’m a Repair noob.

Hope In Decoy
S/S Hopling (Tongue lash, Poison lash, Backflip)
S/S Brown Marmot (Chomp, Crouch, Burrow)
H/H Lifelike Mechanical Frostboar (Missile, Pig Out, Decoy)

Score: 50 (Record 3-2, 20 team points)
L: Direhorn Runt, Pandaren Air Spirit, Darkmoon Tonk
L: Fiendish Imp, Son Of Sethe, Kovok
W: Lil’ Ragnaros, Darkmoon Tonk, Chrominius
W: Snarly, Frostwolf Pup, Dread Hatchling
W: Sky-Bo, Arcane Eye, Nexus Whelpling

After a slow start this team was able to pull out some quality wins. I’m constantly reminded of moves that I used to dismiss due to a low hit rate that are now 100% accuracy (and thus usable). I’m looking at you, Chomp. So many critters are stuck with multiple attacks so it’s great to have one with a regular attack.

Squid Breath
S/S Hopling (tongue lash, sticky goo, breath)
H/P Syd the Squid (water jet, bubble, cleansing rain)
P/B Droplet of Y’Shaarj (swallow, acid rain, breath)

Score: 50 (Record 3-2, 20 team points)
W: Lil’ Bad Wolf, Amber Moth, Onyxian Whelpling
W: KLR, Frigid Frostling, LIl’ Bad Wolf
W: Maggot, Lil’ Tarecgosa, Mini Mindslayer
L: Anubistah Idol, Scourged Whelpling, Blighthawk
L: KLR, Scourged Whelpling, Leopard Tree Frog

This team could have easily went 5-0. The first loss was a close one against a decent player who uses the idol well. The second loss was the result of getting chained stunned by Frog Kiss. I’m really glad this team forced me to go out and buy a Syd the Squid. The prices have gone up since I bought it.

Gluttony
P/P Netherspace Abyssal (Immolate, Immolation, Nether Gate)
P/S Son of Sethe (Plagued Blood, Touch of Animus, Drain Blood)
S/S Hopling (Tongue Lash, Poison Lash, Backflip)

Score: 60 (Record 4-1, 20 team points)
W: Clockwork Gnome, Bonkers, Ominous Flame
W: Wild Crimson Hatchling, Nordrassil Wisp, Cinder Kitten
W: Warbot, Bandicoon, Electrified Razortooth
L: Lil’ Bling, Gusting Grimoire, Darkmoon Monkey
W: Iron Starlette, Molten Corgi, Nexus Whelpling

I wish I had better notes on how the loss happened, but I don’t. I do remember that I was scared of the Gusting Grimoire putting a Curse Of Doom on Hopling so I played around that. I found out later that it had Meteor Strike instead. That was enough to throw me off the game plan and earn the only loss.

Nemesis of Vek
S/S Hopling(Tongue Lash, Poison Lash, Backflip)
Fossilized Hatchling(Claw, Ancient Blessing, BONESTORM)
Lil’ Bling(SMCKTHAT.EXE, Blingtron Gift Package, Launch Rocket)

Score: 60 (Record 5-0, 10 team points)
W: Three moths
W: Ore Eater, Eye Of Observation, Red Cricket
W: Anubisath Idol, MPD, Lil’ Ragnaros
W: Macabre Mationette, Bonkers, Pandaren Water Spirit
W: Scourged Whelpling, Fossilized Hatchling, Nordrassil Wisp

This was an interesting team to play because I always use the exact opposite move set for Lil’ Bling. I’m afraid that Blingtron Gift Package will heal when I need to damage or vice versa, but that never happened. I can see why this was Vek’s nemesis as it won every battle.

Halitosis
S/S Hopling (Tongue Lash, Poison Lash, Dreadful Breath)
P/S Crazy Carrot (Iron Bark, Acid Rain, Bash)
H/H Scourged Whelpling (Tail Sweep, Death and Decay, Dreadful Breath)

Score: 60 (Record 5-0, 10 team points)
W: Terrible Turnip, Kirin Tor Familiar, Onyxian Whelpling
W: Unborn Val’kyr, MPD, Pandaren Earth Spirit
W: Cat, Zooey Snake, Scorpid
W: Lost Of Lordaeron, Crimson Shale Hatchling, Anodized Robo Cub
W: Anubistah Idol, Unborn Val’kyr, Gilnean Raven

I was extremely impressed by the Crazy Carrot replacing the Droplet Of Y’Shaarj on a Dreadful Breath team. It’s less fragile thanks to Bash and Iron Bark. It is certainly a pet that I’m going to explore in the future. Grats on going undefeated.

Hopalong Zappity
S/S Hopling (Tongue Lash, Poison Lash, Backflip)
S/S Cogblade Raptor (Batter, Screech, Exposed Wounds)
P/B Hydraling (Tail Slap, Call Lightning, Shell Armor)

Score: 70 (Record 5-0, 20 team points)
W: Nexus Whelpling, Onyxian Whelpling, Iron Starlette
W: RNV 5000, Frog, Scourged Whelpling
W: Unborn Val’kyr, Death Adder Hatchling, Lil’ XT
W: Lil’ Deathwing, Baby Ape, Lil’ Ragnaros
W: Weebomination, Droplet Of Y’Shaarj, MPD

Congratulations Liwei on your winning submission! The team score turned out to be the difference between this and the other undefeated teams. The second win was a great victory since there were two Frog Kiss procs. I recently tried to revive the Cogblade Raptor but was unsuccessful, obviously I had it on the wrong team. Winning against an MPD and a Weebomination team was a nice way to go out as the victor. Winning against an DAH and valk was no small feat either. Email or leave a comment with your battle tag and what pet you would like and I’ll gift it to you.

Thanks for all of the teams, I have a new respect for Hopling and some new ideas about how to use the little guy.

Before we get to this week’s pet, let’s see who won last week.

And before we get to that let me tell you about the scoring system I’ve come up with. I will play each submitted team an equal number of times. Each win will be worth ten points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on either of the top or high tier list will be worth ten extra points. Each pet on a submitted team that is not on the top tier list (but on the high tier list) will be worth five extra points. No extra points are awarded for the pet of the week itself.

I think I will call these extra points “team points” until we can come up with something better.

Here is the tier list: 12/20/14

For example, Team A includes a Spirit Crab and a Gilnean Raven, both of which are on the top tier list. Its record is 4-1. It would receive a score of 40: 10 points for each win, but no team points.

Team B includes a Kun-Lai Runt and a Gilnean Raven. Its record is also 4-1. It would recieve a score of 45: 10 points for each win plus 5 team points since the Kun-Lai Runt is not on the top tier list.

Team C includes a Kun-Lai Runt and a Clockwork Gnome. Its record is also 4-1. It would recieve a score of 50: 10 points for each win plus 5 team points since the Kun-Lai Runt is not on the top tier list, plus another 5 team points since the Clockwork Gnome is not on the top tier list.

Team D includes a Kun-Lai Runt and a Twilight Fiendling. Its record is also 4-1. It would recieve a score of 55: 10 points for each win plus 5 team points since the Kun-Lai Runt is not on the top tier list, plus 10 team points since the Twilight Fiendling is not on either of the top or high tier lists.

Team E includes an Emerald Shale Hatchling and a Twilight Fiendling . Its record is also 4-1. It would recieve a score of 60: 10 points for each win, plus 10 team points since the Emerald Shale Hatchling is not on either of the top or high tier lists, plus 10 team points since the Twilight Fiendling is not on either of the top or high tier lists.

Or you can think of it like this: adding a pet not on the tier lists is worth the equivalent of one win. Adding a pet not on the top tier list but on the high tier list is worth half of a win.

In the case of a tie, all winners will go into the drawing for the Blizzard pet store at the end of the month.

Phew, that took a few minutes. Bless the person who invented C&P.

Just a note about the first week, I didn’t clearly state the scoring system because I still wasn’t sure how to do it. So it’s not exactly fair, sorry about that. Consider it growing pains. I won’t change the rules or the tier list mid week again; any changes will be made on the following POTW announcement.

Ok, onto the POTW #1 teams.

Bleatdown
P/P Imperial Eagle Chick (Thrash, Adrenaline Rush, Lift-Off)
P/S Alterac Brew-Pup (Bark, The Good Stuff, Call the Pack)
P/P Stinker (Scratch, Rake, Bleat)

Score: 20 (Record: 0-5, 20 team points)
I feel that I let down this team due to my inexperience with AoE heals. A few times I found myself in a position where I was unsure of how to use The Good Stuff effectively. Even then, three (yes three!) of these battles were decided by less than two hundred hp, so they were close. One loss was a direct result of a sandstorm miss. I’ve been seeing a lot more skunks these past few days, I think the AoE meta that people predicted is starting to take shape. I had better learn to use the skunk more effectively.

Two Gifts from Northend
P/P Imperial Eagle Chick (Thrash, Cyclone, Lift-Off)
H/H Scourged Whelpling (Tail Sweep, Death and Decay, Plagued Blood)
P/S Omnious Flame (Spiritfire Bolt, Nimbus, Forboding Curse)

Score: 30 (Record 2-3, 10 team points)
I found myself really wanting Adrenaline Rush after I lost the flying racial. This team made me miss the Ominous Flame. At one point a Sunfire Kaliri swapped into the Spiritfire Bolt then died on the next round to another one, good times.

Fun with Flyers
P/P Imperial Eagle Chick (Thrash, Adrenalin Rush, Lift-off)
P/S Chi-Chi, Hatchling of Chi-Ji (Fire Quills, Wild Magic/Tranquillity, Feign Death)
H/H Netherspace Abyssal (Immolate, Explode, Nether Gate)

Score: 35 (record: 2-3, 15 team points)
This team suffered a lot from me flooding the queue with Imperial Eagle Chicks last night. Someone started running double pets with magic attacks. I didn’t have the right breed of Netherspace Abyssal so I used a P/P. That made Explode less useful. The most satisfying win was against a Haunt and stall team that included the new sproutling with Refuge and a skunk.

Blue Moon Buster
P/P Imperial Eagle Chick (Thrash, Adrenaline Rush, Lift-Off)
P/P or P/S Moon Moon (Moon Fang, Crouch, Moon Dance)
Spawn of G’nathus (Swallow You Whole, Dive, Paralyzing Shock)

Score: 40 (record: 2-3, 20 team points)
I’m now a fan of the Spawn Of G’Nathus. That three round root is great for taking out elementals. Think you’re gonna cast Sunlight then leave? Too bad. I’m certain this team would have done better if I had either of the breeds of Moon Moon that were suggested. Instead I used an S/S, which really wasted some of the utility of Moon Dance. There were some close losses where that little bit of extra power would have been the difference. One loss was 100% attributable on a crit. The first win was against a clonedance team.

Clonecrit
P/P Imperial Eagle Chick (Slicing Wind, Cyclone, Hawkeye)
S/S Jademist Dancer (Steam Vent, Rain Dance, Acid Rain)
H/H Scourged Whelpling (Tail Sweep, Call Darkness, Dreadful Breath)

Score: 40 (record: 4-1, 0 team points)
If any team lost out from me not being initially solid on the rules it was this one. It tied for the highest winning record but didn’t gain any team points. Clonedance is still as awesome as ever, Darkness help shut down some healing. Taking Dreadful Breath in the third slot was a great idea; it led to one of the victories.

This week’s winner is:

Old Avoid , submitted by Vek
P/P Imperial Eagle Chick(Thrash, Cyclone, Lift-Off)
P/S Blighthawk(Ghostly Bite, Consume Corpse, Lift-Off)
H/S Scalded Basilisk Hatchling (Crystal Prison, Feign Death, Thrash)

Score: 45 (4-1, 5 team points)
Congratulations Vek! I didn’t use the suggested breed of Blighthawk, instead I used an H/P (I only have an H/H and H/P). The SBH is very dependent on speed and the queue was kind to it. Not many flyers were faced. The highlight victory was against three tonks. The basilisk was able to take one out then do a healthy chunk of damage to another thanks to hitting multiple Thrashes. It may have done even better with a P/S breed of Blighthawk.

Ready for the next pet?

S/S Hopling

I always say that I’m going to use this little guy but never get around to it. Well, now we’re getting around to it. He’s got an interesting move set that could lead to a variety of types of teams. Crush or Tongue Lash, Sticky Goo or Poison Lash, Backflip or Dreadful Breath. So many options. I’m excited to see what people can do with him!

Note: I’m going on a trip for a the majority of next week and won’t be playing WoW. The winner of this week’s POTW won’t be announced until January 3rd or 4th.

Note: This is the tier list from WoD, click on the “Legion Tier List” tab above for the most current list.

Here’s the tier list that was used for making the pet of the month teams. Now it just for a general reference of what pets are good in PvP.

Here are my definitions of the tiers:

1st tier – These pets are extremely powerful due to their over-powered/over-budgeted moves in combination with good move sets and racials. You can build a team around these pets and expect to win often with the right support. I like to think of these pets as being able to carry lesser pets to great win rates.

2nd tier – These pets are not quite as good as the 1st-tier pets. You can still build a successful team around them, but due to certain constraints they will be not be able to single-handedly carry a team to success like the 1st-tier pets.

3rd tier – This is a general catch-all for the good PvP pets. Some will do better than others in certain situations. This group used to be split in two, I found the split somewhat arbitrary so I combined them.

1st tier
Bone Serpent
Fragment Of Anger
Graves
Mechanical Pandaren Dragonling
Murkalot
Ore Eater/Crusher
Teroclaw Hatchling

2nd tier
Fiendish Imp
Frostwolf Ghostpup
Ghastly Kid

3rd tier
Anubisath Idol
Blackfuse Bombling
Blighted Squirrel
Blighthawk
Blossoming Ancient
Bonkers
Bronze Whelpling
Chi-Chi
Clockwork Gnome
Creepy Crate
Curious Wolvar Pup
Darkmoon Tonk
Darkmoon Rabbit
Death Adder Hatchling
Dread Hatchling
Direhorn
Emerald Proto-Whelp
Emperor Crab
Enchanted Broom
Fossilized Hatchling
Foxes
Frostfur Rat
Gilnean Raven/Crow
Hydraling
Ikky
Infected Squirrel
Infested Bear Cub
Jademist Dancer
Junglebeak
Kun-Lai Runt
Lil’ Bling
Lil’ Ragnaros
Macabre Marionette
Mechanical Axebeak
Magical Crawdad
Moths (due to rng)
Mr. Bigglesworth
Nether Fairie Dragon
Netherspace Abyssal
Nexus Whelpling
Nightshade Sproutling
Prairie Mouse
Puddle Terror
Qiraji Guardling
Rabbits
Ruby Droplet
Scalded Basilisk Hatchling
Scourged Whelpling
Servant Of Demidos
Singing Sunflower
Snarly (and other crocs)
Son Of Sethe
Son Of Animus
Spectral Spinner
Spirit Crab
Stonegrinder
Trunks
Warbot
Weebomination
Xu-Fu
Unborn Val’kyr
Vengeful Porcupette
Zandalari Raptors
Zomstrok

Thanks to Yijiao, Calerian and Liwei for their contributions to the original list.

Here are links to the discussions that led to the lists above:

Tier List Update
Top Tier PvP Pet List

Note about breeds:
While not relevant to the pet of the month competition, I think I should mention something about breeds in case anyone is using this to collect the top PvP pets. There are a few pets on the list above that are dependent upon their breed. If a pet is not mentioned below then any breed is viable.

Fiendish Imp – S/S is the best.
Rabbit – 357 speed S/S
Emperor Crab – P/P
Spirit Crab – H/H
Scalded Basilisk Hatchling – H/S
Junglebeak – P/P

Pet Of The Week #1
Welcome fellow PvP enthusiasts to a new segment, the pet of the week. It’s a weekly team making competition sponsored by yours truly. Each week I will will choose a pet. Entrants in the competition will then send me a team including that pet. I will try all of the submitted teams in the queue and then choose a “team of the week”, based on performance and creativity. Whoever submitted that team is the winner. At the end of each month I will randomly select one of the weekly winners to be the recipient of a Blizzard store pet of their choice.

Our first pet is an underused favorite of mine, the Imperial Eagle Chick. At 341 power the P/P breed hits amazingly hard. You have to be careful with this fragile flyer because it only has 1319 health. In the first slot you have a choice between Thrash and Slicing Winds, in the second slot Adrenaline Rush and Cyclone and in the third slot Hawkeye and Lift-Off.

How will you use this sharp-eyed bird of pain? Don’t limit yourself to the P/P breed, feel free to use another breed if it fits your team better. Please leave a comment on this page with your team. I would prefer the format with the names of the moves rather than the numbers. Also please include the breed, or otherwise state that any breed will work. Please include a name for your team as well. Here’s an example entry:

Cyclonic Pulverization
S/S Jademist Dancer (Steam Vent, Rain Dance, Acid Rain)
P/P Imperial Eagle Chick (Thrash, Cyclone, Lift-Off)
H/H Spirit Crab (Snap, Surge, Shell Shield)

Good luck! If you’re a new member to the site I have to manually approve you. Don’t worry, I check regularly so your comment will be up soon. The winner will be posted on Saturday or Sunday

After Poofah directed me to the thread where Celestalon explains how damage is calculated (Warcraft Pets) I decided to find out some exact probabilities for Burn. Before proceeding, here is what Celestalon explained:

“For battle pet abilities with damage variance, here is an example of how it works:

A positive result would be 320 + 101 = 421
A critical strike would be (320 + 101) * 1.5 = 631
Otherwise the result would be 320 – 101 = 219”

Knowing this, it is possible to compute the exact probabilities for each number in the damage range. You just have to look at the triplets composed of the three rolls. Lets look at a hypothetical example where the roll size is 3. We would have 27 (3^3) different triplets:

111
222,211,121,112,221,212,122
333,332,323,233,331,313,133,322,232,223,311,131,113,321,312,231,213,132,123

A result of 111 means that the maximum roll is 1, a result of 221 or 112 means that the maximum roll is 2, a roll of 132 means that the maximum roll is 3.

The probability of the maximum roll being 1 is 1/27, 2 is 7/27, 3 is 19/27. This maximum roll is the number that would be added or subtracted from the average. So if my midpoint (average) was 5 then I would have a 1/27 probability of doing 6 damage (5+1), an 7/27 probability of doing 7 damage (5+2) and a 19/27 probability of doing 8 damage (5+3). This is only for positive (high) damages. The negative (low) damage distribution would be the symmetric about the midpoint. So really the probability of doing 8 damage would be 19/54, and the probability of doing 2 (5-3) damage would also be 19/54 (half of 19/27).

Using this method of calculating the maximum roll I computed the probabilities for individual damage values of Burn. Here’s an outline of the process:
– find range, midpoint, roll size
– find triplets
– calculate the probabilities of each maximum roll
– add this roll to the midpoint, giving the amount of damage, of which the probability is known
– this is the only the positive end of the damage, but the probabilities are symmetric around the midpoint so the negative damage probabilities can be found by a transposition of the data
– divide the probabilities by 2 since the total probability is now 2 rather than 1 (the symmetry I mentioned above)

There was one gray area having to do with the midpoint. In the given example the range is even so both the midpoint and roll size are integers, but in the case of Burn they are not. The midpoint of the damage range is 293.5. I could either round the midpoint up and the roll size down or vice versa. I chose the latter, making the “midpoint” 293 and the roll size 59. The alternative would have been to make the “midpoint” 294 and the roll size 58, but this would exclude 294 from the damage range.

I decided to use this method on Burn from an S/S Fiendish Imp, which hits from 235 to 352 damage. Here is a chart with all of the probabilities, the cumulative probability and its complement. The values can be read as the damage, the probability of getting exactly that value, the probability of getting at most that damage, then the probability of getting more than that damage. For example, look below at the column for 242 damage. The probability that I do 242 damage is 0.01937 (1.94%), the probability that I do 235 – 242 damage is 0.17705 (17.71%) and the probability of doing 243-352 damage is 0.82294 (82.29%). Perhaps a better way of stating it would be to say If your opponent’s pet has 243 health then you have a 82.29% of killing it with a Burn from an S/S imp.

The mean of the positive (high hitting) values is 337.7.
The mean of the negative (low hitting) values is 249.3.
Both had a standard deviation of 11.4.

Here is a bar chart of the probabilities. As much as I love Mathematica for computation I suck at making it look good. After many attempts at labeling the bars I gave up. I’ll just say that each bar represents one damage value (from 235 to 352) and the height is the probability of getting that value.

Here’s the code I used in Mathematica 7:

min = 235;
max = 352;
range = max – min;
midpoint = N[(min + max)/2];
highmid = midpoint + 0.5; (*never used below*)
lowmid = midpoint – 0.5; (*never used below*)
rollsize = N[range/2] + 0.5;
index = Table[i + (min – 1), {i, range + 1}];

maxlist = Table[0, {rollsize}];
maxlist[[1]] = 1;
For[q = 2, q <= rollsize, q++, maxlist[[q]] = maxlist[[q - 1]] + 6 (q - 1)] upperpdf = Table[0, {rollsize}]; nsupperpdf = Table[0, {rollsize}]; outcomes = rollsize^3; For[p = 1, p <= rollsize, p++, { upperpdf[[p]] = (N[maxlist[[p]]/outcomes])/2; nsupperpdf[[p]] = (N[maxlist[[p]]/outcomes]); (*ns = nonscaled*) } ] lowerpdf = Reverse[upperpdf]; nslowerpdf = Reverse[nsupperpdf]; pdf = Join[lowerpdf, upperpdf]; nspdf = Join[nslowerpdf, nsupperpdf]; cdf = Accumulate[pdf]; cdfcomp = Table[0, {range + 1}]; For[u = 1, u <= range + 1, u++, cdfcomp[[u]] = 1 - cdf[[u]]]; lowermean = 0; For[L = 1, L <= rollsize, L++, lowermean = lowermean + index[[L]]*nspdf[[L]]]; uppermean = 0; For[t = 1, t <= rollsize, t++, uppermean = uppermean + index[[t + rollsize]]*nspdf[[t + rollsize]]]; lowerXsquared = 0; For[s = 1, s <= rollsize, s++, lowerXsquared = lowerXsquared + (index[[s]])^2*nspdf[[s]]]; upperXsquared = 0; For[r = 1, r <= rollsize, r++, upperXsquared = upperXsquared + (index[[r + rollsize]])^2*nspdf[[r + rollsize]]]; var = lowerXsquared - lowermean^2; var = upperXsquared - uppermean^2; (*reduntant but used as a check*) std = Sqrt[var]; indexH = Prepend[index, "x"]; pdfH = Prepend[pdf, "p(X=x)"]; cdfH = Prepend[cdf, "F(x)"]; cdfcompH = Prepend[cdfcomp, "1 - F(x)"]; dataH = {indexH, pdfH, cdfH, cdfcompH}; dataTH = Transpose[dataH]; BarChart[pdf, AxesLabel -> {“Damage range from 235 to 352”, “probability”}]

grid = Grid[dataTH, Frame -> All,
ItemStyle -> Directive[FontSize -> 20, Black]]

Print[“range = “, range];
Print[“rollsize = “, rollsize];
Print[“midpoint = “, midpoint];
Print[“Upper Mean = “, uppermean];
Print[“Lower Mean = “, lowermean];
Print[“variance = “, var];
Print[“standard deviation = “, std];

———————————–end of code

Obviously I’m not a pro coder, but the job got done :P. I think that it’s all pretty straight forward with the exception of how I came up with the triplets that lead to a specific roll. It turns out that there’s a nifty pattern there. You can start to see it in the example of triplets that I gave above:

111 (one case where one is the max roll)
222,211,121,112,221,212,122 (seven cases where two is the max roll)
333,332,323,233,331,313,133,322,232,223,311,131,113,321,312,231,213,132,123 (19 cases)

If you list the number of times each number is the maximum it gives the sequence

1, 7, 19, 37, 61, 91, 127,…
1 = 1
7 = 1 + 6•1
19 = 7 + 6•2
37 = 19 + 6•3
61 = 37 + 6•4
91 = 61 + 6•5
127 = 91 + 6•6
…

37 would be the number of triplets where 4 is the max roll, 61 would be the number of times that 5 is the max roll, and so on.

Once I saw this it was easier to create the list maxcount recursively rather than create a list of triplets and check them one by one. It was very hard on the comp when I tried to do it this way initially.

In my down time from the daily battles I decided to do some basic data collection to see how the new damages are distributed. It was clear right away that attacks often do damage on the high side or the low side and much less often towards the middle. I used Mathematica 7 to make histograms of the data. My ability to manipulate the ticks and bins proved less than impressive, but the histograms do a good enough job of showing the distributions.

I first decided to test Burn with an S/S Fiendish Imp and Missile with a P/P Warbot in the PvP queue. The range of Burn is 235 to 352, the range of Missile is 289 to 434. I gathered data for 122 Burns and 143 Missiles. When attacks were crits, weak or strong I scaled the data back to its initial damage before the modifier.

Burn PvP Histogram, 59 bins:

The mean of the damage was 298.1, the midpoint of the damage range is 293.5.

Missile PvP histogram, 37 bins:

The mean of the damage was 370.3, the midpoint of the damage range is 366.

The data gathering process was too slow in the PvP queue so I turned to PvE to speed up the process. I used an S/S Fiendish Imp and an H/H Emerald Shale Hatchling to test Burn. Both of their Burns hit in the 235 to 352 range. I battled Dragonbone Hatchlings in Dragonblight for quick data collection. I gathered data from 430 attacks.

Burn PvE, 59 bins:

The mean of the damage was 294.9, the midpoint of the damage range is 293.5. That peak is from 18 333 damage attacks and 10 334 damage attacks.

I changed the number of bins to see the data in some different ways.

Burn PvE, 12 bins:

Burn PvE, 4 bins:

There were a lot of rabbits as secondary pets so I was able to gather a lot of data on weak attacks. At one point I thought that weak attacks were leading to damage on the low side more often than they should. It turns out I was wrong, there were actually more high attacks with the weak data. It just goes to show how gathering data can easily disprove those things that “seem” to be true.

Burn PvE weak damage:

All of the crits except for one were on the high side (above the midpoint). There were 24 crits in 430 attacks, which is 5.58%. The average of the crits was 334.0.